HelWin Beta HVDC Converter Station Leaves Zwijndrecht

On Saturday June 14, the topside structure of TenneT’s HelWin beta high voltage converter station left Heerema Fabrication Group’s (HFG’s) yard in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands.

This 10,200 ton structure will be transported to the Helgoland area in the German North Sea where it will be lifted atop an already installed jacket in August.

TenneT notes this structure will provide the 690 MW HVDC transmission link between the offshore wind farm Amrumbank West to the German grid, ultimately supplying enough power for 700,000 homes.

HFG started the construction of the 10,200-tonne HVDC topside in October 2012, after winning the contract from Siemens in June that year for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) of the HelWin beta platform.

The 4,500-tonne jacket for the project was constructed at HFG’s yard in Vlissingen, and installed by HMC’s crane vessel Thialf in April 2014. The HelWin bèta topside measures 98 meters in length, 42 meters in width, and 28 meters in height.

Image: Heerema

HFG’s CEO Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven says, “This EPCI project stands out because of its complexity and size. We managed and built both the jacket and topside in a relatively short period of 20 months, a significant performance and quite unique for wind energy projects. The project’s complexity is due to the fact that a closed structure will be installed offshore which will have a controlled and acclimatized environment on the inside.”